


Lost Hope: An Undertale Story

by Sans_Serif



Series: Lost Hope: An Undertale Story [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Puns, Brooding Sans, F/M, Fluff, Frisk is female, Papyrus is a sweet bean, Sans breaks down sometimes, Sans cares about his brother, Sans has episodes of PTSD, Sans is lazy, Sans point of view, Soriel, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2019-11-14 11:08:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18051359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sans_Serif/pseuds/Sans_Serif
Summary: Sans dreams about the surface, but loses hope every day.Until one day, something new happens.chapters are also available on my Deviantart account at https://www.deviantart.com/ethrealkitsune5/gallery/66057474/Lost-Hope-An-Undertale-Story





	1. An Invitation

The surface.

It was a place he dreamed of, imagining it's open sky and vast landscape, a place at night that had real stars, and not glowing crystals on a cavern ceiling. He'd seen it from the pages of moldy books and magazines. A place that had seemed like some far off fantasy.... But it didn't matter, nothing did, so why bother? It would all just reset eventually, like it always did, time, and time....and time again.

Sans learned very fast in the beginning, that telling people about the resets didn't matter, they would just forget after the next reset. And the time after that.... And the time after that....... Telling him he was crazy, had delusions, wasn't getting enough sleep, or having too much sleep. 

..So one day he decided that he'd stop trying. He'd stop trying to confront that stupid flower, he'd lost count how many times he's killed that thing... But it kept coming back, somehow... He wondered if it had anything to do with the amount of D.T. that was put into it.

But one day? It disappeared. Every now and then he would hear Papyrus say something about it... Maybe the flower was finally getting bored... Honestly, he didn't care.

As long as he could be with his brother, and still talk to the lady behind the Ruins door. This living Hell of a time-loop was bearable.

"hey pap, undyne sent us an invite to a costume party. you wanna go?" Sans asked, his brow bone up in a curious way. The skeleton was lounging on the couch, his hands crammed into his jacket pockets as he looked to his brother on the other end. It only took a fraction of a second before the younger, yet taller skeleton answered, teeth spread in a big grin. "A costume party?! WOWIE!! That sounds like fun! Yes! Answer yes!" 

Sans chuckled at his brother's enthusiasm, it was always something he could count on... And it always made him smile. "alright, alright. though, whadda' ya' gonna go as? ya' need help makin' the costume?" He'd ask as he brought out his phone that was laying in the bottom of his pocket, going to text back a quick response of 'sure' before he pressed send. 

Papyrus tapped his finger on the side of his teeth in thought before he had the brilliant and awe inspiring look of an idea. "OH! How about a Superhero?! Like in those magazines we looked at." He nodded quickly, already overly excited about the idea. 

Sans couldn't help himself but grin at the thought. "a superhero huh? i think we can pull that off, maybe we can head over to the dump and see if anything interesting fell down today. sound good?" 

Papyrus nodded again. "Yes! Can we go now? Maybe we'll run into Undyne there! Oh but... She's been spending time with that person in Hotland a lot lately. I thought she hated Hotland..? I don't blame her really, moving walkways and heat, It's terrible!" He shook his head. "Spikes and snow and ice! Now there's where fun is! Nyeh heh heh!"

Sans shrugged. "undyne's captain of the royal guard, so sometimes she has to go places she doesn't want to. guess bein' top of the royal guard can be a 'royal' pain." He snickered, which only made Papyrus sigh in disgust. Sans though waved him off. "but yeah, we can go now." He'd hop off the couch, making sure his phone was snuggly fit in his pocket, along with his key ring. Papyrus followed his lead promptly, practically wiggling in place out of excitement. The brothers left their two story house, Sans locking the door behind them, the elder brother resuming his slouchy posture with his hands crammed in his coat pockets while Papyrus walked straighter with eagerness in his step.

It was quiet in Snowdin today, probably due to the fact that it had started to snow. And when it snowed in Snowdin, it poured. 

Snowdin after all was at a higher elevation within the cavern, but it only took a matter of fifteen minutes or so for the brothers to work their way down the hill and into the fine fog cloud that separated the cold climate of Snowdin from Waterfall. 

Papyrus broke the silence then as he smiled down at his brother. "Sans? I forgot to ask, what are you going to go as?" 

Sans shrugged as they walked along. "i dunno, somethin'."

Papyrus crossed his arms as he pondered for a few moments. "Well it must be creative!"

Sans shrugged yet again. "let's just focus on your costume, alright? i'll help ya' with whatever ya' need."

Papyrus frowned a bit as they came out of the fog, crossing into Waterfall. "Well... alright. AHEM! SO! I was thinking something red! Oh and white, with blue shorts! I can call it my Battle Body! Nyeh heh!" He nodded. "What do you think, Sans?" 

Sans smiled up at his brother. "sounds cool, i don't think we'll find a cape, but i think i have an old red sheet that we could make it into one for ya'."

Papyrus beamed at the idea. "NEAT! That sounds like a wonderful idea! Oh I can't wait to make the costume! Everyone shall see how GREAT I am! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!"

Sans smiled more softly, his brother's positive attitude rubbing off on him. "they sure will pap. ...they sure will."

 

~~~

The brother's walked for nearly an hour more, talking about Papyrus' costume, different ideas for spaghetti , and of course a strategically placed pun every now and then. Which was irritating for Papyrus, even though he secretly thought they were clever...

They made it to the garbage dump, seeing much of the unwanted items that no Monster would touch. Things like torn stuffed animals beyond repair, random wrappers from anything from candy to snack cakes. Various other materials or scraps.

"Hmm..." Papyrus looked around the area, his beat up boots sloshing through the shallow water as Sans walked close behind. "Oh! Over there!" Papyrus said as he took off into a run, while Sans just casually walked before eventually catching up. "find somethin'?" Sans asked when he came up behind him, watching his younger brother dig around in a pile before he pulled out what looked like old football shoulder pads with a chest guard. "How about this?! I can use my magic to form bone over it, and we can smooth it out, and make it my own!"

Sans smirked at his brothers find and gave him a thumbs up. "sounds good to me." The elder brother moved a couple things around with his slippered foot, making the slipper squish. He'd made a mental note to make sure they both took off their shoes before going back in the house... After walking back over to a different pile, something caught his eye, and he bent down to move a few things aside, and pulled out a couple black curtains, the edges were frayed but... He nodded to himself. "hey pap, they're kinda dirty. but if we wash em' up we could make an undersuit, so that stuff doesn't rub your shoulder bones the wrong way." 

Papyrus walked over, going to inspect the material before nodding in approval. "You are right Brother! It shouldn't take too much of this stuff either!"

After about twenty minutes of walking around and gathering materials, the brothers were satisfied with what they'd found, and walked up, and out the low valley known as the Garbage dump. Though Sans could have sworn he seen a misplaced golden flower in a dark crevice while they walked along the path...

"You know." Papyrus started. "I was thinking of visiting Undyne, but then she would see all this stuff for my costume! And I want it to be a surprise! Let's just go home brother."

Sans chuckled as he carried the black curtains, some red gloves with the cuffs torn, and a couple tubes of paint with half the paint gone in them. "fine by me, this stuff needs washed before we can do anything with it. we kinda smell anyway..." 

Papyrus looked down at his very wet and very dirty worn boots and nodded. "Yes, and The Great Papyrus will not allow himself to be presented in such a way."

 

~~~

 

Back in Snowdin the snow had picked up to near blizzard conditions, which was fine for the brothers. The cold didn't effect them nearly as much as it would for a Monster with flesh, the both of them took off their shoes and socks at the door before Sans unlocked it. Both of them promptly walking in before closing the door, followed by putting their spoils onto the table. 

"WELL! That was certainly fun." Papyrus chimed as he looked to his brother, who... had already sat down on the couch and put his feet up on it. "SANS! PUT YOUR FEET DOWN!" Papyrus yelled. While Sans just looked at him for a moment with a smile before he put them back on the carpet. "fine, fine. go get a shower, i'll go after you."

Papyrus sighed, having his hands on his hips. "Really brother, after how much time it took for us to find such a good couch, get it home, and get it cleaned up. Sigh... Fine, what do you want for dinner after I'm done?"

Sans already had his phone out by then and was dialing a number. "already got it covered."

Papyrus blinked at him. "Pizza?" Sans nodded. "yep." The taller skeleton began to smile again. "With... extra cheese?" Sans nodded again. "yep." Papyrus made a fist pump then nodded. "Very well! I'll be back downstairs in a bit then." Sans just gave another thumbs up as he held the phone to the side of his skull.

Nighttime fell, and it was nice.

The brothers talking about Papyrus' costume, designing it together, eating pizza in their PJ's. All while their clanky washing machine rattled on in the strangely shaped basement. Like in the shape of a backwards 'L'. Only because Sans workshop laid on the other end, it's only entrance being behind the house.

The rest of the evening was spent watching Tv, another cooking show with Mettaton, which Papyrus absolutely adored watching. Sans however only half watched, his thoughts wandering on the day, and that it was actually... Kinda fun.

However, even the happiness couldn't sway his thoughts forever as he dwelled back on what he thought he saw in the dark corner on the way home earlier. He could have sworn it was that stupid flower. ...Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him.


	2. Not a morning person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't guessed by now, yes, this is before Frisk shows up. lol  
> I'll add tags as I go along according to each chapter as I post.

Morning crept over Snowdin, the sunlight from the surface barely shown through small cracks in the cavern ceiling. Not enough to be seen entirely, but made the town slightly less dark than in the evenings. The main source of light for the inhabitants of Snowdin came from the street lamps and lights of houses. All made possible from the electricity which came from the Core in Hotland.

Sans groaned as he heard hard knocking on his bedroom door. "SANS! GET UP! YOUR GOING TO BE LATE FOR SENTRY DUTY!" His brother yelled through the door.

Sans version of PJ's was his white T-shirt and boxer shorts, his face was pressed down into the pillow as his back faced the ceiling, the blanket he was wrapped in being hopelessly tangled around his legs. He reached for his phone that was plugged into a charger on the floor, seeing what time it said. '5:03am' "....you've got to be kidding me." Sans said under his breath.

He didn't technically have to be at work until 6:00am, but even then... He slacked off and went in late a lot. Not like anything would happen. He put his phone back down and rolled over, ignoring his brother for now as he tried to go back to sleep. Half an hour later he heard the same hard knocks again. "SANS!" 

The elder brother jerked awake. "..yeah?" He barely said but Papyrus heard him, hearing his younger brother's irritated sigh through the door. "I'm heading out! Please do get up... I'll check at your post station later. Stop slacking off and get dressed!" Sans grumbled something under his breath before he heard his footsteps go down the stairs, and then the sound of the door closing. "...finally." He said, going to fall back asleep yet again. 

Sans didn't wake back up until a little after 9am, going to check his phone that had been buzzing periodically. He brought up the missed calls as all were from his brother, angry messages along the lines of: "YOUR NOT AT YOUR STATION! YOU NEED TO BE MORE VIGILANT!" And... "I DON'T HAVE TIME TO COME BACK HOME AND CHECK ON YOU, JUST GET OVER HERE! NOW!" And again... "I SWEAR SANS! YOU ARE SO LAZY!" 

Sans yawned, finally getting up to get dressed. He'd slip on his pants which he found freshly folded next to his door, along with clean socks and clean slippers. Courtesy of his brother for finishing up the laundry.

After he got his slippers and jacket on, and made sure he had his phone he teleported down to the kitchen and opened the fridge for a bottle of ketchup, squirting it in his mouth before he put it back... purposely leaving the cap open. He pat his jacket down, trying to find his keys, which, ...weren't there. Pap must have checked his pockets before throwing his jacket in the washer.. And sure enough, he found them in a little bowl on the edge of the coffee table beside the couch. "heh.. thanks pap." 

He'd go on about his day, heading out into the freshly fallen snow, which already had his brother's footprints in it along with other people in the town. The clicking of the lock assured him that the door was secure and with a turn on his heel, headed over to Grillbys for breakfast. 

Upon going in he was greeted by the usual people, just offering them a wave and a smile before he went up to the bar and greeted Grillby. "sup' grilbz, got any coffee? oh, and a bagel sounds pretty good." 

Grillby just stared at him for a moment, the fire elemental crackling and popping before he got out a mug from under the counter and went to pour him a cup. "thanks grilbz." He took it, taking it black as he took a sip, watching as Grillby went in the back, probably for his bagel. Though he looked over and noticed the bird woman a couple seats down, looking at him. "Rough night, Sans?" She asked. 

Sans just shrugged before he took another swig of the coffee. "nah, wasn't too bad actually." The bird woman just smiled a bit at him before Grillby came back with his bagel on a small plate, setting it down in front of him with some butter and cream cheese on the side. "sweet. hey ah..., hate ta' eat and run but.." He downed the last of his coffee and took the bagel, opening his mouth to take a large bite out of it without any of the cream cheese or butter. "i gotta go." He said, spraying a few crumbs onto the floor as he spoke with his mouth full, though swallowed after that. "thanks! put it on my tab!" Then ran out the door, only to walk around to the backside of the building before he teleported all the way to his Sentry station in Snowdin forest. 

The small skeleton took a few more bites of the bagel as he walked into his station and grabbed a bottle of ketchup he kept there, squirting a small amount onto the last couple of bites before downing it. 

He'd smile to himself, enjoying the quiet forest, though couldn't help but notice some footprints leading up to the front of his station, in the shape of his brother's feet. He'd take a swig of the ketchup before pulling out his phone to take a glance at the time. '10:01am.'

"yep.. he'll be here any second." Sans said to himself as he put the ketchup back under his station next to the mustard and relish. And right on cue, Papyrus stormed up to his station, right as he was sliding his phone back into his pocket. The taller skeleton blinked his eye sockets. "BROTHER! There you are, YOUR LATE!" Papyrus sighed. 

Sans just shrugged as he smiled up at his brother. "heh, what can i say, i was.... 'bone' tired." 

Papyrus closed his eyes and pinched his nasal bone between his fingers as he let out a low growl. "Well... You are here now, just don't fall asleep." The younger brother turned, and headed back down the road where his patrol route was. 

Sans chuckled and gave a thumbs up, watching him walk off until he was out of sight. "huh, wonder what the old lady is up to today?" He asked himself, and in the blink of an eye. He was gone, teleporting again, but this time to the Ruins door. He'd take a moment and look to the large bush that was there. Knowing a camera lay hidden within... He'd just make a motion with his finger on his teeth which was the universal way of silently saying 'Shh' before he sat down in the snow. Knowing it was one of Alphys' cameras.

He lifted up his left hand and knocked on the door, having his back turned to it, leaning against it for back support. The knock echoed down the hallway on the other side as it always did, even though Sans knew nothing of what lay on the other side. He'd wait about five minutes of nothing but silence, before he knocked again. And finally, his knock was answered. "Who is there?" A woman's voice rang out from the other side of the door. Sans smirked and answered. "a herd." The woman replied, a small giggle laced in her voice. "A herd who?" Sans chuckled faintly before he spoke. "a herd you were home, so i came over."

Both of them laughed as Sans rested his head against the door, listening to her laugh eased his mind a lot. It was always something he looked forward to, coming to talk to the lady behind the door. After she had calmed her laughter she sighed contently. "I do apologize for taking so long to get here. I was putting tonights dinner into the oven. It is a slow cooking meal." Sans just shrugged against the door, still smiling. "no problem, i'll probably just have leftover pizza. got any good jokes today?" He asked curiously. And her cute giggle answered him right away as she spoke again. "Why yes, here's one." She softly cleared her throat. "Do you know who was a famous skeleton detective?" Sans blinked his eye sockets, thinking about it. "no, who?" The woman snickered before she replied. "Sherlock Bones!" 

Sans burst into laughter after that, having to wipe away a small tear that formed at the edge of his eye socket. "good one, i'll have ta' tell that one to papyrus." He smiled softly, looking down at the snow. "he acts like he doesn't like my jokes, but i think he does." 

The woman behind the door was smiling. "He sounds very nice." She spoke sweetly. Sans smiled a bit wider. "yeah, we went to the garbage dump yesterday, and picked out different stuff to make him a costume for a party we'll be going to at the end of the week. probably finish it up tonight."

The woman's voice rang out from the door again. "Costume party? How fun! Are you bringing food?" She asked as Sans looked up at the cavern ceiling, eying the clouds against it. The Underground was certainly something... having weather like this, but he already figured it had to do with some kind of magical aura interfering from the barrier. "i dunno, maybe. pap would probably make spaghetti. it's not that great, but, i tell him it is, cause it makes him happy."

 

~~~

 

The two talked about different things for over an hour, jokes, different foods they have both had, just general conversation. It was nice... and it distracted Sans from his darker thoughts. 

On the other side of the door Toriel smiled, sitting on the floor herself, her hands laid elegantly in her lap as she sat very lady like. Eying the long corridor that led back to her home. "That is very nice of you, making your brother feel proud of himself." She said as her voice echoed. 

"speaking of cooking." Sans said. "i think i'm going to try out that recipe you told me about."

Toriel blinked in surprise, and blushed faintly that he was actually considering using one of her recipes. "Oh? Which one? I have told you about more than one my friend." She giggled. 

Sans couldn't help but smile wider every time he heard that giggle. "the butterscotch pie, i found a quiche pan to put the crust in. basically the same." 

Toriel smiled. "Yes, I suppose that would work. Do you remember all of the ingredients?"

Sans nodded against the door despite her not being able to see him. "yeah, i wrote them all down on my phone."

Toriel slightly tilted her head in thought. "Oh? I suppose that would be a useful thing to do on a phone."

Sans chuckled a bit, which made Toriel smile. The short skeleton pulling out said phone to check the time. Nearly noon. "well, it's been fun lady. but i gotta head back. paps should be stopping by my station soon." He nodded and put his phone back in his pocket. "same time tomorrow?" He asked. Toriel fidgeted with her dress as she listened and nodded against the door. "Yes, I'll be here. Take care my friend."

After that Sans stood up, only to teleport back to his Sentry station. Toriel sat there, hearing the silence, realizing she was alone. But... she smiled. At least she had her friend that came to cheer her up, so she didn't feel so lonely.

 

~~~

 

After Sans had gotten back to his station it was only a matter of minutes before, again, right on cue Papyrus came strolling up. "Hello brother! Any sign of a Human today?" 

Sans shrugged his shoulders. "nope, same old boring snow and nothin'." 

Papyrus crossed his arms, but kept a smile on his face. "You know if you got to work on time, you could be more effective." 

Sans just grinned. "heh, probably. you ready to go? our shift is over, right? we can go home, eat, and finish up your costume today."

Papyrus raised his brow bone as he swayed a bit, shifting his weight over to his left foot. "Yes, Dogamy and Dogaressa will be coming on duty at their stations. So yes! Let's go home brother! I've been wanting to try something new with my spaghetti!"

Sans chuckled. "i'm sure it'll be great pap."


	3. Happy times don't last forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to happen. hehehe

The brothers walked along on their way home, their footsteps crunching quietly in the snow. Soft wisps of it blowing along it's surface, as most of the snow that fell in the Snowdin region was usually dry, having piles of it ending up in various places. But sometimes it was wetter, making for some interesting snowball battles.

Sans trudged along, making two steps to every one of his brothers, the long conversation he had with the lady behind the door still lingering on his mind as they came into Snowdin. 

He had to admit to himself he was glad Papyrus didn't notice the lack of his footprints in the snow when he first arrived at his station. But he was certainly leaving plenty of prints now. 

..Now that he was actually walking and wasn't using his teleporting for fast travel. He needed the exercise anyway.

Papyrus was first to speak up when they came close to the shop. "Go on home brother, I'm going to pick up a few things for lunch! Nyeh heh! Your taste buds won't know what hit them!" 

"sure thing bro, see ya' in a bit." Sans answered as he gave a soft wave and continued down the road until reaching their house. At least his taste buds got a break from Papyrus' spaghetti the previous evening with the pizza, but.. he'd eat it anyway, cause it made his bro happy. 

And... he'd do anything to keep his brother happy. 

He'd go to unlock the door, and walk in, turning slightly only to pull the door shut behind him. After that he immediately headed over to the couch to plop down on his usual side. 

He wondered what that stupid weed was up to... knowing that's what he saw when they were coming up out of the Garbage dump. It hadn't reset in awhile... Was it really... finally getting bored? Or was it planning something..? 

Either way... Sans didn't really care anymore, he didn't want to get any kind of idea to have 'hope' that things would get better. He half expected the world to shudder any moment in a reset, ending back up in the point in time where Flowey first started them. But it's been awhile... 

His thoughts were interrupted as Papyrus came bursting through the door holding a small bag containing a few herbs. "ALRIGHT! Today I shall add garlic! Undyne says we can move on to other ingredients the next time we train!" 

Sans watched his brother go into the kitchen, hearing him set the bag on the counter. He smiled at his ever present enthusiasm, never getting tired of it. "alright, let me know when it's ready." 

Papyrus poked his head out from around the corner and pointed to a sock on the floor, belonging to Sans. "Oh, and Sans? PICK UP YOUR SOCK!" The younger brother yelled before he went back to preparing his dish.

Sans shrugged. "ok." He'd swing his legs, giving him enough momentum to get off the couch and walked over. ...To the Tv stand? 

He'd reach in under it to grab a pen and a sticky note pad, walk over to his sock on the floor, pick it up to inspect it, then placed it right back down on the floor. And with expert precision, took the pen into his left hand and wrote on the note pad a mocking 'ok' before he peeled it off and stuck it to the wall above a few other sticky notes. 

Technically he picked it up... even though he set it right back down on the floor. With a soft chuckle he smiled at his work then turned to go return the note pad and pen underneath the stand. He took a moment to grab the Tv remote before he walked back over to plop down into his usual spot, just grinning as he pointed the remote at the Tv and turned it on. 

It was some sort of talk show with Mettaton. Talking about an upcoming play the robotic star had planned.

Honestly it was kind of boring, something about romance, music, drama. He closed his eyes, just listening to the talk show and the soft clatter of Papyrus in the kitchen. He heard the water being put in the pot along with the noodles, a few chopping sounds. It wasn't long afterward that he found himself falling asleep.

 

~~~

 

Sans opened his eyes, only to find himself suspended in mid air within complete darkness. He looked around, unable to see anything. Even held up his hand to his face, thinking the soft glow of his eye lights would illuminate something. But they didn't... ...despite being fully dilated.

But there was nothing... just the sound of blowing wind and darkness. Devoid of life, nothing. 

Nothing...

"...hello?" His voice was barely heard over the wind. There was no one to answer, absolutely no one... ...A sense of dread began to wash over him as he tried to conjure a magically infused blue bone into his hand, thinking it's natural light would help but... He quickly found out that he couldn't even do that... 

After a moment he thought he heard something, a whisper through the wind. Part of him hoped it was someone he knew, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of dread, and now fear that filled his soul.

"papyrus..?" ...nothing, he was beginning to panic now, looking around frantically for any sign of light, ....anything.

...

"Your not the one in control here, ...stupid skeleton." 

The voice that spoke was child like as it echoed despite the blowing wind. It held a certain amount of dark intent, and... ...joy, almost like one could hear the sinister smile upon their face.

Before Sans could even react he felt a burning knife slash across his chest, the pain was unimaginable as whatever had attacked him charred his very soul. He tried to hang on, his magically infused blood staining his clothes. Coughing as it splattered out and ran down his chin, he couldn't hold on... "See you soon Sansy..." The sinister child's voice spoke again, right before he felt his soul crack, and burst... ...making his body scatter into dust.

 

~~~

 

Papyrus hummed in the kitchen as he stirred his sauce, smelling like he added way too much garlic. But the inexperienced cook didn't know any better. He was listening to the Tv in the other room, hearing that the talk show was nearly over. Mettaton gave his leaving remarks, and the station cut out, going to it's colorful lined screen whenever the live episodes ended. 

"Ah! Almost ready, I'm sure this will be the best yet!" He nodded to himself in approval, though was short lived as he heard an Earth shattering scream come from the living room. That came... from his brother. 

The younger brother dropped his wooden spoon onto the floor as he jerked in surprise, without much thought he quickly turned the fire out on the stove and rushed into the living room to see what had happened. "SANS?! SANS! WHAT'S WRONG?! WHAT-.." He skid to a stop around the corner, seeing his brother clutching at his chest with both hands, drenched in sweat and panting. What was most noticeable though was that his magic eye was active, glowing a bright cyan with hints of yellow.

"Sans..?" Papyrus frowned and rushed over, quickly getting in front of him as he placed both hands on his shoulders. Sans just seemed to be completely taken over by his fear, staring downward, unfocused with his single glowing left eye, his other completely gone dark.

Papyrus knelt down in front of him, keeping his hands on his shoulders. "Brother.. Your fine.. look at me." He soothed, finally getting Sans attention as he looked up to him.

"p-..papyrus?" His voice cracked out as his breathing softened a bit. After realizing he was still clutching his chest he quickly unzipped his jacket and lifted up his T-shirt, checking on his ribs. They were pristine white... as always, nothing out of the ordinary. He closed his eyes then as he lowered his shirt back down.

"Brother..? Did you have a bad dream? I know how much you fall asleep here..." Papyrus' frown let up a bit before he sat down on the couch beside him, moving his hand down to rub his back while his other rested on the couch cushion.

"y-yeah... bad dream.." Sans spoke out quietly before opening back up his eyes, having them back to normal. He'd let out a sigh and rub his forehead with his left hand, feeling the sweat that was upon it, but he just ended up wiping it on his pants. 

"Are you alright now..? Why did you... ...check your chest? Do you want to talk about it?" Papyrus asked, but his answer came with a few shakes of Sans head. The younger brother just smiled sadly, and nodded while he gave Sans a soft pat on his back. "Alright... I understand... But if you change your mind.. You know I am here."

Sans smiled a bit up at him. "i know you are... i'm alright, ...thanks pap." He'd lean back against the couch again, seeing the Tv screen was nothing but bars of vertical color, which meant the program was over and he reached for the remote to turn it off. "spaghetti is smelling good, it almost ready?"

Papyrus smiled a bit more as he nodded, still worried about his elder brother. But, he tried to move on from the subject so Sans wouldn't be upset. "Yes, if your sure your alright, I'll go finish up lunch for you!"

Sans blinked. "for me?" He asked curiously. 

"YES! I already ate my lunch at my station! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus responded before he stood back up and headed back to the kitchen, resuming the making of the 'Spaghetti Masterpiece.'

 

~~~

 

The rest of the afternoon was nice, despite having a freaky nightmare... Sans 'enjoyed' his brothers spaghetti, telling him he was doing a great job. 

Even though it tasted like complete garbage. He'd find a way to get it down without triggering his gag reflex. And of course he ate seconds when offered. ...And thirds. Eating until he couldn't stuff down anymore, and the rest of course ended up in the 'food museum', also known as the fridge along with the rest of the leftover spaghetti from his other cooking sessions.

The brother's sat at the table then, finishing up Papyrus' costume for the party. The hour growing into the early evening by the time they did finish.

It turned out pretty nice. And Papyrus especially loved the red scarf that Sans made for him, doubling as a cool cape. It was soft and set off the rest of the costume quite nicely. And it fit him perfectly after he tried it on.

"Wow Sans! You've really outdone yourself! I'll be the life of the party!" Papyrus gleefully said, inspecting the costume over as he walked around the house in it to test how it flexed and moved. "NYEH!" 

Sans chuckled and gave his brother the thumbs up. "ya' look great bro, i'm sure it'll have everyone talking for weeks." 

"BUT OF COURSE! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus cackled out as he struck a heroic pose. "Oh, but Sans? You haven't told me what you want to go as yet."

Sans just smirked. "it's a surprise."

Papyrus blinked. "Surprise? You WOULD keep me in suspense... VERY WELL! I shall be surprised then."

Sans shrugged. "heh." He'd get up, going to zip his jacket back up. "well, since we're done, i'm gonna go get a drink, alright?"

Papyrus raised his brow bone inquisitively. "Don't stay out too late Brother, we still have a job to do."

"yep, won't be out too late. love ya' bro." Sans offered a wave.

Papyrus only sighed as he smiled at him. "Love you too."

Sans went out the door and turned to head towards Grillby's, passing by the window of their house as he knew his younger brother would be watching. After he was clear from the window his smile slowly turned into a frown as he walked down the road. Once he got to Grillby's though he headed around towards the back, going to teleport. ..He'd get that drink later, so he wasn't actually lying...

 

~~~

 

He ended up in Alphys' lab, standing behind her couch as the reptilian Monster was sitting in her PJ's, munching on popato chisps and watching an episode of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.

Sans just watched the Tv screen for a moment before he spoke. "sup'."

Alphys gasped loudly as she dropped the bag of chisps onto the floor, causing a few of them to fly out of the bag, jerking her head around as she saw him. "S-Sans?!" She quickly scrambled for the remote, hitting pause for the DvD player before she stood up to face him. "W-What are you d-doing here?!" She looked totally embarrassed while her tail curled around her leg. 

"had something to ask you, mind if i uh.." He replied as he made a silent motion with his hand, as if asking to sit on her couch.

She blinked a few times in confusion but nodded. "Oh... y-yeah, sure." She moved a few empty bags of chisps off and to the side as she sat down, watching him come around and plop down. "What is it? Is something... w-wrong?" 

Sans stared ahead at the paused television screen, still frowning. "do you remember... helping me with the machine in my workshop? and... after that we ran the time tables?" 

Alphys blinked more, going to adjust her magically infused glasses closer to her eyes. "Sans.. I.." She frowned a bit. "Yes, I remember. Some s-scary stuff.. dealing with quantum theory. ...S-Sans.. you haven't still b-been working on that machine... H-Have you?"

Sans eyes went dark as the light within them disappeared, he was silent for a moment. "...do you think any of it, ...is real?"

Alphys fidgeted with the hem of her night shirt as she listened to him. "Sans... I.. d-don't know. Does this... have.. a-anything to do with your fa-" 

"i don't wanna talk about that..." Sans cut her off, his eyes still dark.

"S-Sans... I-It's not your fault Ga-" Alphys started but Sans cut her off again, but more sternly.

"I DON'T!.... Want... To talk about it." His voice went darker, scary even, but Alphys nodded. Sans sighed and closed his eyes, going to rub his forehead with his left hand. "look, i'm sorry alph, i just.. ...needed to ask."

Alphys slowly nodded again.

She missed the days they worked together in the lab, but... understood why he left. After the accident with his father. She knew he blamed himself for not being able to save him, and didn't like talking about it. She hated seeing him this way... but wouldn't bring it up again, at least for now. 

"Sans? Did... ..s-something happen? That made you ask this?" Alphys asked, seeing he still had his hand on his forehead.

Sans heard her, his mind flooding with memories of the resets that Flowey had caused, making friends with them at first, talking to them, ...being killed by them. Stopping him, over, ...and over. He had been taken by surprise the first time... and the `only` time he was killed. Everything reset after that... He didn't know why he was alive, but knew who was responsible.

He lowered his hand and turned his head to look at her with darkened eye sockets, taking a moment just to stare at her before his eye lights reappeared and he smiled weakly. "just a bad dream." He shrugged a bit. "how've... you been? i know it's been awhile."

Alphys frowned at him awhile more before she forced herself to smile. "It's.. o-ok. I've been ...ok. People k-keep sending letters asking about..." She trailed off.

Sans knew she was talking about the Amalgamates, going to stand up, walk over, and place his hand on her shoulder. "hey... it'll be alright." He tried to assure her as he smiled. Alphys looked to him and slowly nodded. "Thanks S-Sans... ...And.. about asking, if it's all real? I honestly don't know..." She paused as she looked down. "Did your dream make you ask about it?"

He nodded weakly as he held his now `fake` grin. "yeah, was pretty nightmare inducing. but i'll try not ta' worry about it."

Sans gave her a witty wink and took a step back, going to place his hand back in his coat pocket. "sorry i barged into your place unannounced. i should get going..."

Alphys slowly managed to genuinely smile. "I-It's ok. S-See you." And with that he was gone, teleporting back behind Grillby's as he headed in to get that much needed drink.

 

~~~

 

Papyrus found it odd that Sans was going to the shop to pick up food items the next day, and even odder still that Sans spent a lot of time in the kitchen after getting off duty.

"Sans...? What are you doing?" Papyrus asked, a little confused, but also curious.

"baking." He replied, mixing together a light brown sugary substance in a bowl.

"Baking..? Really? WOWIE! Does this have anything to do with that Lady you said you sometimes talk to?" Papyrus asked even more curiously.

Sans drug over the pie pan that was filled with a store bought crust, going to pour in the sugary substance. "yeah, she's a great cook. or... says she is, well... says she's cooked a lot. i haven't actually eaten anything she's made before."

Papyrus tapped his teeth as he watched his brother smooth out the surface of what he thought was a 'quiche' with a spoon. "Hmm... You are using a pan, but it is filled with a non-egg... sugary substance... Interesting." He noticed that whenever his older brother spoke of this woman, his mood brightened considerably. "This woman, do you know her name?"

Sans shrugged. "nope, but she doesn't know mine either. i think if she was going to tell me her name, she would have done it by now. doesn't really matter to me. if she wants to tell me, she will." He slid the pie pan into the oven and shut the door, going to set the timer.

It was later that day that the brothers got to enjoy Sans version of 'butterscotch pie'. And... Sans admitted, it was pretty damn good.

Days went on like usual, nothing out of the ordinary happening. 

Sans conversation with Alphys still lingered with him, though new conversations with the Lady behind the door always put his mind at ease. Exchanging jokes, talking about their days. How great the pie was that he'd made. 

He had to admit that he kinda liked this lady, even though he didn't know her name, or what she looked like.

The day of the costume party came, and of course his brother flaunted his 'Battle Body', becoming the life of the party. Sans costume consisted of his normal clothes, with a sticky note pinned onto his jacket that read 'crappy costume'. His brother scolded him but.. their other friends thought it was funny.

A few more days passed in their usual way. Except Papyrus wore the costume all the time now, even to bed and in the shower.

It made Sans really think... What was that weed up to..? Was it up to things he wasn't aware of? Unlikely... unless it was happening in the ruins. Except his conversations with the old lady would suggest no.

Until one day...

Sans went into work early for once, rather... earlier than he usually did, and headed on over to the Ruins door as he plopped down in the snow against it like usual. And knocked. 

...No answer, he waited about 5 minutes and knocked again. 

...No answer.... He frowned a bit, starting to get a little worried. He'd wait a few more minutes and knock again, still nothing. 

Sans sighed, staring down at the snow, but then her voice finally came from the door. "Who is there?" He let out a small sigh of relief then and answered. "scold."  
He couldn't hear her giggle, but she responded. "Scold who?" 

"scold enough out here to go ice skating." He snickered, and was expecting her to howl in laughter. But... she didn't. 

He only heard a hushed giggle come from her.. ...something wasn't right.

"hey uh... are you ok? what's up?" He asked.

Toriel sat on the other side of the door, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "I am sorry..." She sniffled. "You are... a Sentry, correct?" 

Sans blinked. "yeah? i'm supposed to keep a lookout for humans, kinda boring." This was weird... Why was she asking about his job?

"I see..." She softly spoke, and he could have sworn he heard her crying, but what came next he wasn't expecting.

"If a Human ever comes through this door... could you please, please promise me something? Watch over them, and protect them, ...will you not?" Her voice was shaken, he could almost hear the tears that were running down her cheeks.

His eyes widened at what she just asked him. "that's-..." He looked down to the snow as he frowned a bit. "that's.... gonna be-.." He closed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists in his pockets before he sighed. This woman... who sincerely liked bad jokes.... She had a certain integrity.

And he couldn't deny that... he liked this woman.

He slowly stood up and turned to face the door, laying his left hand on it before he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against it. He hated making promises... But for her..?

"...i promise."


	4. Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has his work cut out for him, even though he slacks off a bit. Or does he?  
> ~~~  
> "maybe it's a little strange, but sometimes...  
> ...it's nice to have someone call you out on being lazy.  
> even though nothing could be further from the truth." -Sans (Cannon)  
> ~~~

A promise...

To watch over, and protect a Human should they ever come through the Ruins door.

...What had Sans gotten himself into? He HATED making promises. Only because whenever he made one, he felt obligated to keep it, even if he didn't want to.

But for the Old Lady, he'd try his best to keep that promise. 

Old Lady... He only called her that because it was the first joke she ever told him. He still remembered how it went.. ending up in 'Oh, I didn't know you could yodel.' It held a special place in his soul.

After getting off duty that day Sans told his brother to go on home, that he had a few things to take care of. Papyrus seemed reluctant at first, but nodded as the two brothers parted ways. 

When Papyrus was out of sight Sans teleported to the garbage dump, up above a waterfall that overlooked the valley of trash. He was looking at a small patch of golden flowers that were growing at the base of one of the larger waterfalls. 

"You look upset. ...Smiley Trashbag."

That voice... Sans knew it all too well as he spun on his heel, summoning not one, but three blasters as their jaws bared at the golden flower known as Flowey.

Flowey bobbed on his stem as he smiled innocently, the Blasters hovering there, ready to fire. "What..? Not gonna blast me?"

Sans gritted his teeth as he glared at the weed. "why are you here..?" His eye lights were gone as his left hand was outstretched towards Flowey, wanting SO much just to blast away that stupid weed into a pile of ash. But knew it was pointless... He'd just reload, or worse... reset again.

Flowey continued to bob almost happily on his stem. "Hee hee hee! Golly! You should see the look on your face. Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything... This world has gotten SOOO boring... ...I've done everything, seen everything." He winked. "I even killed YOU!"

Sans growled through his teeth. "yeah... back during one of your first resets... before i caught on that you were the one responsible. making me think you were my friend." 

Flowey giggled. "Yeah! After that next reset? I found out about you.... How only YOU remember... You remember it all... Don't you? Oh but your powers..." The plant sighed almost happily. "Boy was I surprised, I didn't stand a chance after that! I lost track how many times I tried to kill you again..."

Sans just glared at him, hating the sound of its voice. "you won't get so lucky. ever...again... ...now answer me. why... are... you... here?" 

Flowey turned away from Sans as he looked up at the cavern ceiling. "No, I don't think I would be able to kill you a second time... Your too clever." Flowey swayed from one side, then the other. "I want something new. Don't you? It would make things more interesting..."

Sans furrowed his brow bone together, not taking his gaze off the plant. "what are you getting at..?"

Flowey looked at the cavern's ceiling awhile longer before he turned back and faced Sans. "See you around. ...Trashbag." And with those words Flowey vanished into the ground.

After a few moments passed Sans let out an irritated sigh, going to dispel his blasters as they deconstructed into a shower of spent magic. Almost like snow... except little twinkles of blue light that faded before they hit the ground. He'd turn and look to the patch of Golden Flowers again.

...What did Flowey mean? Wanting something new...? The skeleton walked over to a spot he'd like to sit sometimes... Usually only coming here when he wanted to be left alone to think. The promise he just made weighed heavily on his mind, along with that freaky nightmare... And Alphys bringing up his father like that... And this whole new thing with Flowey... The pressure was starting to get to him.

He'd sit down on the ledge, watching the water flow, an occasional piece of trash floating by before going over the waterfall to collect in one of the piles.

"...i wish you were here dad, you always knew just what to say." Sans whispered to himself as his eyes closed. "i know your out there... ...somewhere." His hands clenched into fists as he felt his eyes start to water, forming at the edges before he felt them spill over and run down his cheeks. "i'm sorry... i couldn't-" His voice cracked before he covered his face with both his hands, quietly weeping... 

It was in that moment that Sans thought he felt a warm hand touch his shoulder, and he jerked up to look, ...but no one was there.

He just smiled sadly and went to wipe his eyes, wondering if it was all in his head. 

~~~

It wasn't until later in the afternoon that Sans had returned home, making sure his tears were dried before walking into the house. Papyrus was sitting on his side of the couch, munching on some popcorn while watching Mettaton's cooking show. Still wearing his 'Battle body.' "SANS! Your home! Get everything taken care of?"

Sans smiled at his brother and nodded. "yep, all taken care of. what's metta' cooking tonight?" He'd ask, going to join his brother on the couch and reach over for some of the popcorn.

"OH! He's making something called a... Sew.. flay?" Papyrus seemed uncertain.

"souffle?" Sans asked and Papyrus nodded quickly.

"YES THAT! Is that something like a spider pastry?" Papyrus asked curiously.

"nah, i think it's like a... puff? i dunno..." He popped a few pieces into his mouth, talking between crunches. "i'd eat it." 

Papyrus tilted his head. "Puff? Hmm... Interesting..." He'd reply, going to munch on more popcorn as well.

Sans nodded slowly, chewing away on the salty snack, staring at the screen.

 

...What was happening?

 

~~~

 

It had been nearly two weeks since Sans had seen Flowey, wondering if the plant was watching him in secret, or was hiding somewhere. 

He hadn't talked to the Lady behind the door in a couple days... the last time he did she seemed to be cheered up since that day she asked him to promise, he wondered how she was...

He'd shrug as he sat at his station, going to teleport over to the Ruins door.

He raised his hand as he was about to knock. But he heard a sound... It sounded like some old lock turning... And he quickly teleported behind a tree. ....As the Ruins door opened.

The door slid along the snow, wiping away any trace of his footprints, and... out walked.... A child? But not just any child. A Human Child. 

Sans eyes widened a bit as he watched this brown haired, yellow looking child wearing a striped shirt look around after the Ruins door closed from the cross wind. Sans could hear from his hiding spot that the door had locked itself, it probably had an old mechanism that allowed it to do that...

The small child shivered a bit before they walked on.

Sans eyes narrowed, watching as they went to inspect a large branch on the ground, and try to pick it up, but found it was too heavy. 

He silently teleported up into a tree, watching them still as they gave up on trying to pick up the branch and walked on down the path. The small skeleton grinned as he hopped down from the tree, smashing into the branch as it snapped into pieces, only to teleport again behind a different tree. This time getting a little closer.

He couldn't help but grin wider when the sound of the snapping branch made the child gasp and look back to see it had been broken. Almost like it happened on it's own... 

He'd wait until the child started walking again before quickly walking over to the next tree and hid, silently holding back a laugh as the Human looked back again. He reached inside his jacket for a miniature whoopee cushion, watching the child walk further down the path until they reached the bridge... Papyrus had constructed a very large gate here, with bars that were much too wide to keep a Human out. 

It was then that Sans outstretched his hand and turned the child's soul blue, preventing them from moving any farther. 

`alright old lady... promise is a promise.` Sans thought to himself as he walked towards the child, seeing the fear that radiated off of them as they couldn't move. Once he had come up behind them he spoke deeply. "Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal?" He spoke practically into their ear as they couldn't move. "Turn around, and shake my hand."

He'd release his magic on them as they slowly turned, and outstretched his left hand. Reluctantly the child reached out and took it, which... only set off the small whoopee cushion he was holding. 

Making a very loud, and very long fart sound. 

Sans chuckled, having the biggest grin on his face. "the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny."

The child seemed mildly annoyed by this as they pulled their hand away and groaned. But, as Sans continued to laugh they eased up and began to smile, even giggling a bit them self.

"anyways... your a human, right? that's hilarious." He chuckled softly. "i'm sans, sans the skeleton. i'm ah.. actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... ...y'know." He shrugged. "i don't really care about capturing anybody. now my brother, papyrus? he's a human-hunting FANATIC."

The child looked up to him as he spoke, having yet to say a single word. But they did seem to be listening closely.

Sans rolled his shoulders softly as he looked down the road, and... right on cue, at the same time he usually came, he seen Papyrus walking towards his station. "hey, actually, i think that's him over there." He reached up and tapped the side of his chin in thought as he smiled. "i have an idea, go through this gate thingy. yeah, go on through, my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." He motioned for them to go on, and without any hesitation the child went on through as Sans followed close behind them.

Across the bridge was where Sans' station was, along with a weirdly shaped lamp that he kept nearby for some extra light. "quick, behind that conveniently shaped lamp." Sans said as the child again.. followed his instruction without any hesitation. They looked to Sans for a moment before peeking out from around the other side as Papyrus came strolling up to the shorter skeleton. 

"sup' bro?" Sans asked as Papyrus seemed a little upset, probably because Sans hadn't been checking on his puzzles, which were... covered in snow and frozen in place. 

"You know what's 'sup' brother! It's been over a week since you've done anything about your puzzles! You just hang around outside your station! What if a Human comes through?! What are you even DOING?!" Papyrus yelled.

Sans just smiled at his brother as he looked to the lamp. "staring at this lamp, it's pretty cool. do you wanna look?"

Papyrus' nasal bone would have been flaring by now if it were even possible. "NO! I don't have time for that! If a Human comes through here I want to be ready!" He stomped his foot on the ground as he clenched his fists. "I WILL be the one to capture them! I MUST be the one! Then I, ...The GREAT PAPYRUS! Will get all the things I utterly deserve."

He nodded quickly as he struck a heroic pose. "Respect, Recognition! I will FINALLY be able to join the ROYAL GUARD! People will ask to be my.. ..friend?" He nodded again. "Ah yes... I see it now, I shall bathe in a shower of kisses every morning!"

Sans chuckled at his brother and looked to the lamp again. "hmm, maybe this lamp will help you?"

Papyrus sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "Sans... You are not helping!" He looked to his older brother sternly. "All you do is sit here and BOONDOGGLE! You get Lazier and Lazier every passing day!"

Sans held up his hands defensively but he still smiled. "hey, take it easy. i've gotten a ton of work done today. ...a skele'ton'." He chuckled, placing his hands back in his pockets.

Papyrus narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his hips. "Sans..." He said through gritted teeth, though... was struggling to stay serious as he was grinning a small bit. 

Sans laughed. "c'mon, your smiling."

Papyrus kept smiling but.. tried to stay serious. "I am and... I HATE IT!" He sighed. "Why does someone as great as me... Have to do so much just to get some recognition?"

Sans shrugged and closed one eye in a wink. "wow, sounds like your working yourself... ...down to the 'bone.'"

Papyrus struggled a bit to hold back a snicker but sighed. "Ugh.. I'll attend to my puzzles. As for... Your work?" He reached up and tapped the side of his teeth for a moment. "Put a little more... BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" He ran off cackling but turned around at the last moment and smiled more softly at his brother. "Heh.." 

Sans watched as his brother went back down the path, then looked over towards the lamp. "ok, you can come out now." He tilted his head as the small child crept out from behind it and looked down the road, then looked back to Sans. "you outta' get going, he might come back, and if he does..." He winked. "you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." He chuckled and looked down the road again. "don't worry, my bro's not dangerous, even if he tries to be. there's nothin' to be afraid of, alright?" He nodded. "just a dark cavern full of skeletons and horrible monsters." He said sarcastically.

The Human looked to him a little worriedly, but seeing his smile made them feel a little more confident as they turned and started to head down the road. Though Sans spoke up when they got about twenty feet away. "actually... hey! hate ta' bother ya', but can you do me a favor? i was thinking... my bro's been kind of down lately." He shrugged. "he's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. y'know?" 

The child blinked their narrow eyes, thinking about it for a moment before they smiled and nodded.

"thanks a million, i'll be up ahead." He gave them a thumbs up and turned, heading in the opposite direction that Papyrus went.

The rest of the afternoon was certainly 'new'.

Sans went along quietly, sometimes in the background, sometimes in plain view. Watching the Human's progress, giving them guidance every now and then. Seeing how they were being nice to the other Monsters, despite the other Monsters trying to attack them at first. 

But with a few waves of his hand from the background, unseen, he'd use some of his blue magic to help them dodge. Doing so in such a way that made them think it was their own skill all along.

The Human had finally been properly introduced to Papyrus as the taller skeleton smiled gleefully. "THIS IS GREAT SANS! I'LL FINALLY CAPTURE A HUMAN! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus cackled out as he stood with his older brother. "Continue only if you dare Human! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!" 

Sans just continued to smile as Papyrus ran off, then turned to look at the Human. "welp, that went well. don't sweat it kid, i'll keep an eye socket out for ya'." He nodded before he turned and walked on.

The Human was doing pretty well... talking to and sparing the Monsters as they journeyed through Snowdin forest, managing to get past his brother's puzzles. And even agreed with Papyrus that junior jumble was more difficult than the crossword.

Sans smiled at this and chuckled, happy that they were appeasing to his younger brother. It didn't take the Human too much time at all to work through some of his bro's shorter puzzles. Watching from the background to make sure they didn't get hurt. It took them awhile to solve the more complicated ice puzzle that was just above the place where the brothers liked to build things in the snow.

In Sans case, making a lump of snow and writing on it while his brother made a 'Papyrus' shaped masterpiece. He really had to admire his brother's snow sculpting skills, he was certainly creative.

After they had made it past the 'Gauntlet of Deadly Terror', Sans watched as the Human walked up to him. "welp, seems like your going to have to fight my brother pretty soon. just watch out for his special attack. remember, blue stop sign." He'd nod, and watch the Human nod in response as they smiled. "Mhmm!" They'd squeak out, and he'd watch as they continued on into Snowdin town.

The Monsters of Snowdin seemed completely oblivious to know that the Human was... 'Human', treating them like another Monster. 

The small child wandered all over town, taking in the sights of the shop, the Inn, the library. They even went into Grillby's, and tried to get into the skeleton brother's house, only to find it was locked.

Sans watched them from afar, it seemed they were finally making their way out of town, down the slope and into the fog that separated Snowdin from Waterfall.

It was hard to see, but he could barely make out the silhouette of his brother, and that of the Human. This would get interesting... but he was ready.

"So... You have finally arrived." Papyrus spoke out, turning to face the Human.

`magic... don't fail me now.` Sans mentally said to himself. 

The Humans hardest battle yet, was about to begin.


	5. A Cool Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos and lovely comments, chapter 5 is the last I've written in quite some time. Chapter 6 is still a Work in progress.  
> I have a basic way I want the story to go, but depending on the reaction I get from this will depend on my motivation to write more. lol
> 
> This is bit of a longer chapter.  
> Hope you all enjoy. :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans is willing to keep his promise to watch over and protect the human child, but can he keep that promise?

Papyrus shifted his weight to his left foot, placing his right hand upon his hip as he eyed the Human up and down with an inquisitive grin.

"Allow me to explain to you some very complex feelings." He started, going to tap a finger alongside the edge of his teeth.

"Feelings like... the joy of finding another pasta lover." He seemed to ponder on this particular thought for a moment.

"Admiration for another's puzzle solving skills." Upon this quote he looked away from them for a brief moment, even tapping his foot in thought.

"The desire to have a cool, smart person... think you are cool and smart as well." He nodded, looking back to them.

The small child blinked a few times in confusion, what was happening..? Was he monologing? "Umm.." Their small voice cooed out, unsure of the situation.

"These are feelings... ...YOU MUST BE HAVING RIGHT NOW! HUMAN!" Papyrus proclaimed, though the look on the small child's face was obvious that they had no idea what he was talking about.

"I can hardly imagine what it's like to feel that way, after all..." He chuckled. "I am VERY GREAT! I don't wonder what having lots of friends is like." He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"I pity you... ...tiny human. But WORRY NOT! You shall be lonely NO LONGER! For I, The GREAT PAPYRUS have decided... I shall be your-..." He trailed off, his brow falling as he began to worry. Acting on impulse to gain a friend... any friend... Other than Undyne. But his self proclaimed duty to impress her... To become more than just a 'Sentry'. He HAD to do it, no matter how much it opposed his kind nature. He sighed in irritated self loathing.

"No... I cannot be your friend! You are a Human! I need to capture you! Then... I can fulfill my LIFELONG DREAM!" His brow furrowed in concentration as he summoned a bone club. 

"Then... Human." He grinned more deviously.

"I SHALL JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD!"

The Human just stared at him worriedly, thinking Papyrus was going to attack them. He'd actually... been kind of nice, but were they really going to hurt them..? They waited, watching for him to attack.

Yet he didn't?

"WELL?" Papyrus raised a brow at them as he expected some sort of amazingly spectacular attempt at an attack.

The Human frowned and drew their arms inward towards their chest, shaking their head. "I... I don't want to fight you."

"So... You won't fight..?" Papyrus tapped a gloved finger on his bone club while he grinned. "Then let's see if you can handle my 'BLUE ATTACK!"

Sans still hid behind a tree in the background, watching through the fog. It was easy enough to tell exactly what his brother was saying, seeing as he could hear him too... 

'c'mon kid... just remember what i told ya'.' He thought to himself, and sure enough the child held perfectly still as Papyrus cackled. Infusing his bone club with blue magic before he unleashed it along with a barrage of other blue bones, gliding effortlessly across the snow. 

The child felt them go through their body harmlessly, but the sensation as each one phased through them made them shiver. Every single one felt icy, cold, and tingly, unaware of their 'other' purpose... It wasn't until the barrage had stopped, that they felt themselves sink deeper into the snow.

They felt heavier... Like they'd suddenly been carrying a backpack full of rocks. They could move, but not nearly as much as they previously could. ...Was this supposed to happen?

"YOUR blue NOW! That's my attack! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus cackled out.

Sans moved his head to one side, then the other as the vertebrae in his neck popped. 'go easy on em' pap.' He thought as he watched closely from his hiding place.

It took a few moments for the Human to try to get used to their impeded movement, but the blue magic certainly took it's toll. They looked to Papyrus firmly shaking their head, looking very determined in their previous statement to not engage. "I won't fight!"

"Hmm... I wonder how high you can jump?" Papyrus asked curiously when he seen they weren't attacking, though the human could have sworn there were other thoughts lurking behind his dimly lit eye sockets. He outstretched his arm as another wave of bones shot towards them. This time a combination of normal bone attacks and blue infused ones.  
Though when the Human managed to jump over them, he was thoroughly impressed. So he sent another, this one a little more intricate and complex. "Try this!" He grinned, but again, they dodged them easily.

In the far background Sans' left hand was wreathed in an ethereal blue flame, helping them out with their jumping, though only a little. He was impressed... this kid was determined to stay strong through his brother's blue magic.

The one sided duel went on for nearly eight more turns. Eight long turns of jumping, barrages of bones, and Sans own blue magic helping along the way. All the while Papyrus was muttering how they and the Human should hang out later... among other things. It wasn't long before the two of them were left panting. One wouldn't think a skeleton could get worn out, but the skeleton brothers after all were living, breathing monsters just as the other species that lived in the underground. Save for the Ghosts, they were in a class all on their own.

"Well!" Papyrus panted. "It's clear... you can't..." He swallowed, trying to catch his breath, feeling his magic was spent. "Defeat me! YEAH! I can see you trembling in your boots!" He nodded quickly, even though he was completely exhausted. "Yes! Therefore I..." He panted. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS! Choose to grant you pity." He cleared his throat, trying not to seem obvious to show his exhaustion despite sweating profusely.

"I shall spare you now, Human! Now is your chance to accept my mercy." He panted more softly now, but stood as straight and gallant as he could.

It didn't even take two seconds before the Human smiled and nodded quickly, feeling the blue magic on them fade. Allowing them to stand up straighter as they jumped up and took a couple steps towards them. "Yes! Thank you! I..." They frowned a bit as they withdrew inward slightly, starting to feel the chill now that they were calming down from the fight. But also felt a small tingle, thinking it to be the chill in the air. When in reality it was Sans' own blue magic fading from them. "I didn't want to fight you." The child proclaimed.

Papyrus sighed as his arms hung limply to his sides. "I cannot even capture someone as weak as you, Undyne will be disappointed in me, I'll never get to join the royal guard and..." He sighed a second time, clearly depressed. "My friend quantity will remain stagnant."

The Human frowned a bit more as they heard him, and walked up to him offering a kind smile. "Papyrus? I'll be your friend." 

The tall skeleton immediately came out of his stupor and smiled bigger than he'd ever smiled before, stars practically shining in his eyes. "REALLY?! WOWIE!! You'll be my friend?! We should hang out at my house later!!! There's all kinds of stuff we can do! Oh this is GREAT! I'll be your coolest friend!" 

He then gave them directions to the castle, and told them about the King before he cackled and ran back into town. "I'LL BE BY MY HOUSE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!"

Sans heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the whole thing. "welp, that went well." He yawned and pulled out his cell phone, debating whether or not to give the Human his number... But he just shrugged and put it back in his pocket, going to teleport behind his station in Waterfall. 

Which looked exactly like the one in Snowdin, complete with having the same snow on the roof and everything...

 

~~~

 

It only took a matter of fifteen minutes for the human to make their way past the river and into the first smaller cavern of Waterfall where Sans' second station was located, he was leaning on his hand. Elbow propping him up as he watched them exchange some words with a Monster child that had snuck out of town. And to the Monster that explained what Echo flowers were.   
A lone glowing blossom that lit up this section of the cavern, along with the glowing crystals on the walls and cave ceiling.

"so, you made it past my brother. nice job kid." Sans said when the Human approached him, though they looked a bit confused as they were inspecting his station. Taking notice that it looked exactly the same as the one in Snowdin. 

"what? never seen a guy with two jobs before? luckily, that means twice as many legally required breaks. you wanna go to grillby's with me?" Sans asked.

The human just gave a small little shrug before they smiled. "Sure! I am pretty hungry..."

"nice." Sans smiled, making his way around to the front of his station. "c'mon, i know a shortcut."

Sans motioned for them to follow him into a thin corridor, with just enough room for them to walk side by side comfortably before he softly placed his hand on their shoulder. In the fraction of a second the world seemed to displace around them, fading into black, but then came back into focus as they reappeared beside of Grillby's. The child was dumbfounded... What just happened..?

"fast shortcut, huh?" Sans winked and waved off their confusion as he led them inside and said hello to a few of his fond acquaintances, exchanging a few words with a few of them before he sat down at his usual place up at the bar. "here, have a seat." He patted the bar stool next to him.

The human was still just standing there... trying to understand what the heck just happened. They were in Waterfall... They knew that for a fact, and then they were in Grillby's?   
Nearly a... half an hour walk back into Snowdin?   
"Umm... y-yeah." They stammered out, going to sit on the bar stool next to Sans.   
Only to... hear a small whoopee cushion go off that they hadn't even noticed was set there.

Sans snickered softly under his breath. "gotta watch out, weirdo's sometimes like to put whoopee cushions on the seats.

This only caused the small human to giggle though. "How'd you do that? I didn't even see you put it there. And how'd we get here so fast?"

Sans winked at them, always having that corny grin. "magic."

Like that actually answered anything...

"so what would you like? burger? fries? both?" He asked.

The human blinked. "Umm... fries sound pretty good." They nodded.

"hey, that does sound pretty good. grillby! two orders of fries."

The fire elemental gave a silent nod, walking towards the back. Sans smiling as he watched him go. "so." 

His gaze was drawn back to the human as he tapped a few boney fingers onto the counter. "what do you think of my brother? pretty cool, right?"

After a moment the human nodded and smiled. "Yeah! He's real cool! And said we should hang out later. ...Was his special attack supposed to make me feel heavy?" 

"is that so?" He asked although.. knew everything from their fight already. "and of course he's cool. heh..." He considered their question for a few silent moments as they waited for their food, then finally decided to answer. "yeah, you must have stood still right?" The Human nodded and Sans smiled more softly."that's his special blue attack, and... if you would've moved... buddy... it wouldn't have been good. hurts worse than a punch. but... anyway."   
Hearing all this made the human frown a bit as they gulped.  
"you know that getup he's wearin'? we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party." He nodded. "calls it his 'battle body.' least he washes it, and by that i mean he wears it in the shower." He chuckled. "oh, here comes the grub."

He watched as Grillby came out with their two plates of fries, setting them down in front of them. The human looking rather hungry and excited to eat it. "want some ketchup?" Sans' question distracted them as they thought for a moment, seeing he had grabbed it from the edge of the bar.

"Sure!" The child answered.

They took the ketchup bottle from him, turning it upside down to get some of it out. Only... the cap fell off and an avalanche of ketchup glopped onto the fries...

Sans chuckled, trying not to crack too big of a grin. "whoops. ah... that's alright, you can have mi-"

His sentence was cut off only to see the human eating the fries anyway... getting ketchup on their fingers. "What? I drown my fries in ketchup all the time." They said. 

Sans shrugged and went to munch on a fry himself, smirking softly. "welp, wasn't expecting that." 

He'd reach to grab another, before he too drizzled some of the ketchup over his own fries, even taking a swig directly from the bottle to finish it off before he set it aside. "so, you got a name kid? know i never really asked before now."

"Frisk." They nodded, having ketchup on their face now as well.   
Yet happily ate up the ketchup-y french fried goodness.

"frisk?" Sans repeated. "huh, not what i imagined a human name to be, but alright." He watched them eat for a few moments, taking the time to eat a few fries himself.   
His thoughts beginning to wander even more than they already were.

What a day... A Human appears, after decades since the last one fell, he made a promise to the lady behind the door to protect said Human he was now sharing a meal with. He kept having that same nightmare at least twice a week now, and Alphys bringing up talk about his father still lingering after he tried to bury such emotional thoughts away... He gave up trying to get him back... the machine wouldn't work, no matter what he tried or how many times he worked on it. Plus the resets from the weed always set him back more times than he could count. Or rather... lost track of counting.

And the stupid weed was showing up now on various occasions just to mess with him... Was this Human the only reason it wasn't trying anything..? Because it was curious..?

He looked back over, watching them eat, allowing them to do so without interruption before he spoke again. 

"so.. ...frisk, i wanna ask you something." Sans tapped a single finger on the counter as he examined their face closely. "have you ever heard of a talking flower?"

Frisk looked to him as he asked the question, remembering when they first met Flowey... ...Was he talking about Flowey..? Unsure... they merely nodded their head.

"ah, so you know all about it then. the echo flower. they're all over the marsh whispering the last thing that was said to them, over and over." He lingered on that last sentence for a moment before he spoke again. "papyrus said one appeared next to him one day, whispering words of encouragement.. ...and predictions."  
He didn't want to freak out the kid, by telling them there was a psycho flower running about that had the power to reset the timeline as many times as they pleased. But.. thought he could gauge their reaction, if they did by chance run into the weed.   
And by the look on their face... he seemed to have played his cards correctly, even though he was withholding information.

The words repeated in Frisk's mind, it definitely sounded like Flowey...

"keep an eye out, would ya'?" He reached for one more fry and ate it before he got up from the bar stool. "well, that's all. hey, mind picking up the check?" Sans said this casually.

The look on Frisk's face said everything, a bit of panic for fearing they wouldn't have enough gold. And that... Sans was the one that invited them in the first place, so shouldn't 'HE' pick up the bill..?

Sans chuckled at the face they made and shrugged. "just kidding. grillby, put it on my tab." He nodded. "oh and kid, maybe you should swing by our place. i'm sure pap would love the company, it's the last house on the eastern side of town before the hike down into waterfall."

He started to walk towards the entrance, but turned around a few feet before reaching the door to smile back at them.   
Should he really tell them more about Flowey..?   
...Nah.   
"oh, i was gonna say something but... i forgot." He softly chuckled and shrugged, turning back to walk out the door.

The humans eyes were on him as he left, watching him go out the door and turn to the left in the direction he had mentioned where their house was located. They just smiled before turning back around to lick their fingers clean and wipe off their mouth with a napkin, still enjoying their ketchup covered fries.

Sans started to walk a few paces past Grillby's, however his phone began to ring, buzzing and jingling away in his coat pocket before he dug it out to see who was calling. There... in bold black letters across his phones surface, just the way he programmed it to come up, was the one name he didn't want to be seeing right now. ...Undyne.

'oh... shit...' He mentally panicked.

He quickly put the phone on silent, even though it was still buzzing... Shoving it into the bottom of his pocket and immediately turned around to head back into Grillby's. 

With as much 'normalcy' as he could, he walked up to Frisk and grabbed their hand while they were still in the middle of finishing up their fries. "H-hey! I wasn't done!" They pouted.   
Sans not really caring that he was getting ketchup on his hands right now. Not like he cared about much else anyway, except keeping his bro happy and keeping his promise to the old lady.

"sorry kid, we gotta go." Sans could feel the sweat beading up on his brow, moving as quickly and 'casually' as he could before he led them down the back alley. Hoping Undyne wasn't nearby...   
He teleported with them straight into the living room of his house. "Y-You did it again!" Frisk yelled as they looked at him, clearly freaked out. 

"yeeeeah... stay here... would ya'?" Sans quickly wiped off his hands onto his pants and teleported again back to the empty narrow corridor of Waterfall that was close by his station. Hoping that Undyne wasn't marching her way through Snowdin...

He could already feel his phone buzzing again, swiftly walking back to his station before he dug the device out of his pocket again and finally answered. Holding the phone out at arms length as he knew what was coming... "SANS!" Undyne's voice bellowed through the phone, and he held it slightly closer as he answered. "oh, hey undyne. sorry forgot i put my phone on silent." 

"Doggo said there was some weird stuff going on! Is there a Human?!" She growled through the receiver.

"human? naaah... you know how doggo is. he'll check every falling lump of snow just because it moves." Sans made his voice as casual as possible, mastering the art of keeping calm under pressure. 

"I-..." She trailed off, seeming in thought. Sans could practically hear her rows of teeth grinding together... "You have a point... But he said something... pet him?"

"might have been a couple of snowdrake teens playing a trick on em'." He replied.

She sighed. "Look just... keep a look out. Alright?"

"you got it, boss lady." Sans winked, despite... her not even being there, though heard an irritated sigh come from her. 

"And stop calling me that!"

That was the last she said before hanging up, leaving Sans heaving a huge sigh of relief as he too ended the call. 

At least before she hung up he could have sworn he heard the sound of a waterfall, which meant she wasn't in Snowdin. It only took him a matter of seconds to reach the narrow corridor before he teleported directly into his bedroom, and reached out for a dirty towel that was swirling around in the self sustaining tornado in the corner. It also had some leftover food, a notebook, and a couple books.

He'd wipe the sweat off his face and sigh yet again before he stepped out from his bedroom, and tossed the towel back in before locking the door with a flip of his wrist. Hearing it magically click behind him.

"Oh! Hi Sans!"

Hearing his brothers voice come from down in the living room made him jump a bit before he looked over the safety rail. Seeing Papyrus stand at the far wall close to the stairs as Frisk looked around the house.

"oh, hey pap. you.. hanging out with the human?" Sans asked as he leaned on the railing, still trying to calm his nerves from the panic of thinking Undyne was going to find the human.

"YES! Isn't it great?! They must have snuck in somehow! I heard a knock at the window, and there they were! So I came in to investigate. I'm still technically working, since it is my job to keep a lookout for humans... but... we can hang out, right?" Papyrus seemed a little uncertain.

"course you can, you two have fun. i'm gonna head back out for awhile, i'll be back later." Sans said as he made his way down the stairs. "hey kid, play nice with my bro. and ah... stay awhile, it's getting a little chilly out." He actually just wanted them to stay inside until he got back...

"Oh? Well alright brother, I shall be here hosting for our guest! And my new friend! Nyeh heh heh!"

Frisk smiled at the brothers and up at Papyrus. "Okay! Papyrus says he has action figures he wants to show me."

"But of course tiny Human! I have many!" Papyrus nodded quickly.

Sans just offered them both a warm smile before he walked out the door and... locked it behind him for good measure, using his keys this time. 

He walked like he was heading back towards his station in Waterfall, only he made a detour behind the shed as he teleported. But to his station in Snowdin, the smaller skeleton staggered a bit as he held his hand to his face. Seeming exhausted from everything that had gone on in a single day. "ugh... too much magic usage for one day..." He said to himself, and looked off towards the ruins. "bah... one more shortcut sans... too tired to walk the rest of the way..." He gathered his magic and pushed to teleport again to the Ruins Door, bracing himself on on its hard surface before he slid down it and into the snow. The world started to blur, everything felt light and fluffy... maybe... teleporting again... wasn't such a great idea...  
Everything went dark...

 

~~~

 

For just a little while, things were alright, despite passing out from too much magic usage...  
Sans groaned as his eye sockets cracked open, it was softly snowing, and dark. The only light that partially illuminated the snow came from the distance in Snowdin. "dammit... i blacked out." He cursed under his breath and got out his phone to check the time. ...Only a couple of hours.. He went to call his brother, the human was fine, and they were still hanging out.

"Oh Sans! Is it alright if the human stays the night? We're having a lot of fun!" Papyrus' voice asked through the receiver of Sans' phone.

"huh, i don't see why not. sure." Sans voice replied, though sounded a bit groggy.

"YES! We're going to order a pizza! With lots of cheese! We'll get another with pepperoni on it for you brother. ...Did you fall asleep? You sound a bit off." Papyrus asked.

Sans just smiled weakly. His bro was pretty receptive... when it came to him anyway. "heh... yeah, for a little while. and sounds good, i'll be home later."   
He could hear Papyrus sigh softly, but he was having too much fun to think on it for long. "Well, alright, be safe out there brother."

The both of them then hung up and Sans looked to the Ruins door behind him.

Normally he visited the old lady in the mornings, and afternoons, but regardless... he still hadn't heard from her going on three days now... 

He lifted his hand, and knocked, hearing a startled gasp as it made him gasp as well. Clanking his skull against the door in the process, sending a pain that vibrated all the way down his spine to his little stubby tail. ...Ow.   
...Had she been listening to him talk on the phone..? When did she get there..? Was it even her..?

"old lady?" He asked, going to rub the back of his skull where it made contact with the door.

"Oh! It is you! I am sorry... I was not expecting anyone at this hour... I was sure I was alone. ...I... did not wish to disturb you... it sounded like you were talking with someone on a phone. But I could not tell." Toriel's voice came through the door, softly muffled.

"oh ah... heh. yeah, guess i usually do always stop by in the mornings but... it's been a few days. now I see why." He reached up to place his hand at the door, smiling softly. "and... yeah, was talking with my brother pap, making sure he was alright. i... kinda fell asleep here."

"You.. fell asleep? Here?" This caused a small giggle from her. "I still do not understand how you fare the cold so well. But... yes... Are they doing alright? The child? I tried to keep them from leaving, but they were very determined to leave the underground..." Her ears fell softly, or rather... drooped less as they rested on her shoulders. 

"yeah, they're at my house actually. my bro's keeping them company, probably telling them stories. they're safe." He gently caressed his hand across the cool stone of the door, imagining what she might have looked like... He'd heard her voice for so long now... but didn't have a face to match it up with. 

"R-Really?! Oh thank you! I...-" She sniffed back a few tears as she smiled sadly, leaning partially against the door as she stood. "I knew I could trust you... thank you... my friend." She wiped away a forming tear and sighed more contently. "I'm so glad they are alright... I had made butterscotch cinnamon pie for them, they took a piece... and kept it. I am not sure if they have eaten it yet.   
And... we were going to have snail pie for dinner... But...-" She trailed off, sighing softly as he could hear her shift, sounding like she was sliding into a sit along the door. "At least... they were able to take a piece of the butterscotch..."

Sans arched his brow and chuckled faintly. "you made em' b'scotch pie? sweet."

Toriel giggled at his small little pun. "I hope they're eating well..." 

"they are. i don't know about eating 'well' but, they are eating. heh... i took em' for a bite myself, and pap is getting dinner for us." Sans eased.

"...I'm glad." Toriel replied. And Sans could hear the smile in her tone of voice.

There was silence for a few moments before he heard her sigh again. "I apologize... for not being here the past couple days... The child... I put all my time into them. I... missed your knocks, and I am sorry for that." She smiled sadly as she placed her paw on the door. "I must admit... I missed hearing your voice."

This made Sans flush as he felt his magic heat his face into a pleasant blue color, happy that she couldn't see him for once. He had to swallow a forming knot in his throat before trying to break the now awkward silence. "i-" His voice cracked in a higher pitch, much to his embarrassment, before he cleared his throat to try again. "i'm... happy to hear from you too." He nodded against the door.

Hearing her giggling from his 'squeak' made him groan quietly as he pulled his hood up over his skull. But... it was something new... It almost made his soul weep... that he could lose this moment... along with all the others he had lived. Still remembering when he told her about the resets, and she believed him. But... she too, had forgotten.

"Knock knock."

The sound of her voice brought him back from his dismal musings and he smiled weakly.  
"whos' there?"

"I'ma." She replied.

"i'ma who?" He smiled a bit more then.

"I don't know yet." She snickered behind the door.

Sans blinked a couple times. "huh..?" Then he got it. "oooooooh, heh heh... good one." He sighed more contently then as he relaxed against the door, looking up at the falling snow.   
"what do you call a skeleton that's very funny?"

Toriel tilted her head against the door as she smiled softly, giggling a bit.  
"I am not sure, what do you call them?"

"very 'humerus'." He snorted.

This caused Toriel to laugh harder, much to Sans' delight as he closed his eyes, just listening to the elegance of it.  
He could listen to her voice forever...  
"heh... snail pie, huh?" He asked when Toriel had calmed from her laughing.

"Oh yes, it is an old recipe, one that... I like to make for special occasions..." Her mood seemed to drop again on the last few words.

Sans could practically hear her pain on the last syllables before he tried to make a positive out of a negative. "well... i'd love to try it sometime, you know. after we meet in person."

This made Toriel smile warmly again as she thought on his words. "...I'd like that." She whispered softly, just loud enough for him to hear on the other side.

Sans nodded as he kept his hand on the door. "i'm sure it'll be great... but ah... well, pap said he was ordering some pizza. and i am pretty hungry... all this talk about food." He hesitated a moment as he blushed faintly.  
"i'll... ...come talk to you again real soon, alright?"

Toriel nodded against the door and smiled. "I look forward to your next visit my friend. ...Thank you so much... for watching over them. And... until next time."

Sans smirked and gave a couple soft pats to the door before he stood up. "goodnight."

"...Goodnight." She replied, though it was filled with a certain kindness and warmth to it.

He waited a moment as her tone of voice made him shiver, but... not from the cold.  
And to shake himself of the feeling he started walking before he teleported back behind the shed in Snowdin, staggering again. A sound similar to a growling stomach came from a lower portion of his ribs as he sighed, having his hand on the shed to stable himself. "ugh... i really need to eat... magics running on fumes..." He'd yawn, going to walk around to the front of the house and let himself in. 

Finding Papyrus and the Human sitting on the couch playing some retro video game with monkeys and barrels. His brother wearing his 'Battle body' like usual, but seen Frisk was wearing a borrowed pair of Sans' Pj's. Which... he honestly didn't mind, it's not like he wore them all that often. Usually just wearing his T-shirt and underwear to bed. Least the Pj's were clean.

"Welcome home brother! The Human and I are making a duel effort to thwart the dastardly crocodile lord! The pizza is in the kitchen! We saved plenty for you!" Papyrus said all while his barely visable pin pricks of eye lights stayed glued to the Tv screen.

"ok." Sans kept smiling, always being in a better mood any time he got to talk to the old lady. Then pulled out his phone, surprised when he hadn't missed any calls or texts. Just a few... random notifications from Alphys on Undernet. 

 

The rest of the evening was spent playing video games, eating pizza, and Sans quickly finding out that the kid was pretty good at this game.

Papyrus even let them sleep in his car bed while he used a sleeping bag on the floor.   
A bedtime story read by Sans leaving them both fast asleep. Fluffy bunny did it every time...

The elder brother let out a quiet sigh as he exited the room and softly shut the door, then walked down the hall to his own room as he magically unlocked the door and went in. Only to re-lock it behind him. ...What a day.  
Though his last drifting thoughts left him feeling warm and a little shallow of breath, those words the lady had said... Left him feeling something he hadn't felt before.  
And he quickly deduced what it all meant...

...He was in love.

 

~~~

 

When he awoke the next morning he realized he slept in, unknowing that Papyrus had gotten up early as he usually did. Even the human was up before he was...   
...The kid left a small sticky note on the Tv that read: "Thanks for letting me stay the night, i'm going back to waterfall now."

...

Sans was unaware that Papyrus was giving his report to Undyne in Waterfall at the same moment he was reading the note... Telling her that he did find a Human, but... let them go, yet would do whatever he could in helping Undyne find them. 

Frisk watched from some tall grass, seeing Papyrus leave. They moved only a small bit... and Undyne jerked her head towards their direction, dawned in her thick armour, tall and intimidating. Especially to a child...

She drew closer, summoning an energy spear into her claws.

...This was bad.


	6. A skip in time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is beginning to notice something is amiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here! After over a year of just not being able to write (On my DA page) I finally got around to finishing chapter six of this thing.  
> Thank you to those who were kind to me and asked to see more, I'll try to get started on the next chapter for you guys. :3

Chapter 6 : A skip in time

Sans read over the note Frisk had left a few more times, then pulled out his phone in case there had been any missed calls. There was nothing from Papyrus, so... things should be ok.   
. . .Right?

He yawned and walked to the kitchen to grab a cold piece of pizza out of the fridge, chomping down on it before he went back upstairs to get dressed. Once he was presentable for his own standards, being the same clothes he wore the day from before, save for a clean t-shirt and socks, he teleported behind his station in Waterfall. It was just the usual Monster standing by the echo flower... They were talking to themselves, seeming to be completely unaware that Sans had just materialized out of thin air. But to be careful he walked into the narrow corridor and teleported again to a broader section of the marsh, looking around for any sign of Frisk's blue, pink striped sweater. 

There was no sign of them from the places he looked, part of him didn't want to care. Yet... the other part of him remembered his promise to the woman behind the Ruins door.

Meanwhile Frisk watched as Undyne approached, terrified out of their mind, unmoving from their hiding place within the tall grass. They were trying as hard as they could not to make a sound, even holding their breath, but she still drew closer. One peering eye, glowing bright yellow through the right side of her helm.   
They could hear as Undyne growled, which sounded even more malicious coming from inside her metalic helmet. The eight foot woman's spear crackled and hummed with magic as it illuminated the area around her.  
Time seemed to stand still as Frisk felt her gaze resting on the area where the grass had shifted... ...Undyne just glared before her spear dissolved into a fine mist of spent magic, backing away into the shadows, her body fading into the shadows.

A feeling of dread hung in the air, but there was no sign that the Captain of the Royal guard lingered nearby.  
Frisk hesitantly made their way out of the tall grass, looking around carefully until they were sure Undyne was gone. Shaken, terrified, ...but determined, they moved forward.  
Unaware that the monster child they had came across just yesterday was following them, bolting out of the tall grass behind them.

"Wow!!! Did you see the way she was looking at you?! So COOL!" Monster kid chimed out, dancing on his feet.

"Wha-? Have you been following me?" Frisk asked.

"Yeah! You snuck out of town to see her too, right?" Monster kid replied.

"Umm..." They thought for a moment. "Papyrus is pretty cool too." They nodded.

This question seemed to confuse Monster kid. "Who?" He asked, but then shook his head. "C'mon! We can probably catch up to Undyne! And watch her beat up some bad guys!" He sprinted off, only to topple over and land face first on the ground... 

Frisk rushed over to try and help him up, however was surprised when he bounced back up onto his feet. An impressive feat for one with no arms. 

"C'mon! I'm sure we'll run into her again!" Monster kid said as he ran off, he was really fast... Not surprising with legs like those, they reminded Frisk of a raptor...

~~~

Papyrus had left Undyne after his report, feeling extremely guilty for having called her and telling her about the Human he had spotted.

Undyne was his friend too... His only other friend besides his brother.

He had online friends, but they weren't the same since he associated with them under an online persona. 

He wanted to be friends with everyone, he had to warn the human somehow... But he didn't want to lie to Undyne either!

Undyne wanted to know what they were wearing... He had to warn Frisk, but through all their hanging out, he neglected to get their phone number. 

But he could fix that... Yes he could.

~~~

It didn't take long at all for the monster child to get out of sight, vanishing into the crystal lit cavern. 

Up ahead were more echo flowers, softly whispering things that were spoken by other monsters who had passed by. And giant flower buds were neatly placed along a small bend along the wall. 

Curious how when four of them aligned in the water, they bloomed into a solid surface that could be walked on over water. It was after Frisk did so that their phone began to ring, It never did that before... Not since inside the ruins, was it Toriel?

Hope blooming in their chest, they picked up.

"Hello?" 

On the other end was Papyrus. "Hello human! You are probably wondering how I got this number? Since I so obviously forgot to ask you... SO! I dialed each number sequentially until I got yours! Yes... So umm... What are you wearing? I'm... Asking for a friend, but their opinion of you is kind of... Murdery."

He wanted to know what they were wearing...? Frisk looked down, they had found an old dusty tutu behind one of the waterfalls, but other then that, was wearing their usual clothes. The part about murder concerned them... But they also didn't want to lie to their new friend, Papyrus.

"Umm... I found an old tutu, but the rest of my clothes are the same." They said.

"So... You are wearing an old tutu? Hmm..." There was a brief pause from the skeleton.

"Ok! I'll let my friend know! `WINK!`" And he hung up...

 

~~~

 

Sans looked around a few more remote sections of the marsh, but there was no sign of Frisk.

"dammit... kid where are ya'? " 

He let out an iritable sigh before teleporting to a narrow gap in one of the tunnels throughout Waterfall, he had a telescope set up nearby. Even if it was just for kicks to play pranks on people and make it look like they had a black eye. "you couldn't have gotten too far..." 

He walked up near his telescope and inspected it, though his cellphone began to ring. He seen it was Papyrus and picked up. "sup'?"

There was a moment of silence as he heard a soft rattle of bones. "B-Brother! I don't know what to do! I told Undyne about the Human! I didn't want to lie to her!" 

Sans's eye sockets widened a bit, but he tried to keep his cool persona."...did she find them?"

Papyrus whined. "No.. I don't think so.. But I called the Human! And asked what they were wearing... and I told Undyne a old tutu... But.. you think the human would know to change their clothes.. right? SO! I.. I'm not betraying anyone! Right..?"

Sans sighed and rubbed the side of his face. "pap... you gotta call back the human and explain better, do you know where they are?"

Papyrus let out a soft sigh as well. "Oh! Perhaps the Great Papyrus could explain things a little better without sounding mean! They were heading towards the wishing room.. I think."

Sans nodded. "thanks... i gotta go." He hung up and relaxed against the wall for a moment. 'the wishing room, ....shit.. that's near one of undyne's patrol routes..' He thought quietly to himself. 

 

"You sure like to stand and stare at nothing, don'cha smiley trashbag..." 

 

The sudden chime of a sweet and innocent voice had him turning so quickly on his heel he thought his other slipper would fly off. 

Among flowers of the marsh, a familiar golden one was grinning at him... Standing out like a sore finger, Flowey. 

Instantly he narrowed his sockets, but eased off as his expression became it's usual fake grin. It wasn't fast enough though as Flowey noticed with a sly smirk. 

 

"Aww, Do I get on your nerves Smiley?"

 

Sans just stared at him with a grin. "if i say yes, will you `leaf` me alone?" He asked with a wink. 

Instantly Flowey's face went from amused to annoyed, but only for a brief moment as he smiled cruely. "I'm not in the mood for your jokes Smiley, just wanted to say that human you were watching is really interesting..."

Sans arched his brow bone a bit, ..he must have been watching from the shadows. And apparently Flowey had been watching this child for awhile, quickly putting together that the weed was just bored and wanting something new to happen. He wondered how long it would last.

"if you say so, if ya' ask me they're a little-"

 

Sans instantly jolted as he felt the world shift, as if it had skipped on a record. He blinked a couple times and looked to where Flowey was. Except.. he wasn't there, he wasn't anywhere to be seen. He'd felt that sensation before... and deduced long before that it was Flowey's doing. But it wasn't a reset?

He heard his phone ring in his pocket, taking a moment to grab it and see who it was. Papyrus?

With a slide of his finger across the screen he picked it up, a small amount of sweat forming at his brow. "uh.. hey pap, what's up?"

There was silence but he heard a soft rattle of bones. "B-Brother! I don't know what to do! I told Undyne about the Human! I didn't want to lie to her!" 

...Didn't he just call about that?

"i-...it's ok pap, just call the human back an' explain a little better. ok? i gotta go." He softly got out.

"B-BUT!" Papyrus stuttered, but Sans hung up the phone and rubbed the sweat off his brow. Did the weed just reload? Why..?

He had a knawing feeling in his lower ribs, making him feel half sick. And with a soft sigh he leaned up against the cave wall next to his telescope, looking down at the cool stone under his feet. Feeling what little hope he had dwindle lower, that moment he had with the woman behind the door... Would he lose that moment like all the others?

 

It wasn't until a little later that he heard the small pitter patter of tiny feet, looking down the passageway as a little monster hopped along. It was a monster child, fluffy and walking on two legs, their fur brushed up into a point on top of their body. 

And shortly afterward, he finally saw Frisk slowly walking up towards him. His face softened a bit, pushing up off the wall, taking note that they looked a little shaken up. "heya kid, left before i even got up. how ya' doing?" Sans asked, hoping to cheer the kiddo up.

Frisk looked at the ground where Sans stood, then looked up to him. "I'm ok.." They said weakly, Sans arching his brow but shrugged one shoulder. "well hey, your doin' pretty good but ah.. careful where ya' go. undyne likes ta' patrol round' these tall grassy areas."

Frisk just nodded slowly before walking past him. "Ok..." Their small voice spoke out weakly, something was definitely up with them, but Sans couldn't place his finger on it. Instantly wondering if that reload had something to do with it. ...But that was impossible. Right? 

Only `he` seemed to remember the reloads and resets, and of course that damned flower that was causing them... No, that human couldn't have known, right..?

He watched Frisk turn and walk across the bridge over the marsh, waiting until he could barely see them before walking around a corner himself and teleporting to a better point of view where he could observe them better. Watching as Frisk walked by some of the various echo flowers, and as they met with some of the local monsters who chose to hang around this area of the marshes. Just as he did in Snowdin, used a bit of his magic to help them dodge some of monsters attacks. Aaron wasn't giving them issues, the guy would rather flex at himself in a mirror. But Moldbyg was proving to be challenging until the kid discovered to give it some space. Even along the way they made friends with the octopus monster known as Onionsan.

When they came upon Shyren, he was pleased that they were patient with her. He even got to have some fun with the local monsters, selling fake tickets to her singing performance.

Whatever that was bothering the kid from earlier, their face didn't show any sign of it now. He wondered what could have happened... wishing he would have found them earlier. But they seemed to be ok.

Once they reached the `rainy` area with that monster child that snuck out of town, Sans perched himself on a dry stone shelf, watching as the two weaved their way through the puddle ridden path. It was easy to keep track of them since Frisk was carrying a pink umbrella. 

He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but they seemed to be having fun splashing about and enjoying each others company. 

Keeping watch until they reached the high ledge. It was no problem for a monster that could jump or for he himself who just used teleportation for easy transport. But for young MK and Frisk, it was impassable on their own. He was about to head down himself, but saw as Frisk climbed up on the monster child's shoulders and climbed up onto the ledge.

Where Frisk was heading was out of his view, and seemed he'd have to move to a better observation spot to keep them out of trouble.


End file.
